Ted Gostas was born in 1938 in Butte, Montana. He was commissioned a 2d Lt in the U.S. Army through the Army ROTC program at the University of Wyoming on July 28, 1961, and went on active duty beginning March 28, 1963. After attending Infantry School, the U.S. Army Intelligence School for Counter Insurgency Training, and foreign language school, Capt Gostas served as a German Interpreter with U.S. Army Europe in West Germany from April 1964 to March 1967. He then deployed to Southeast Asia, where he served as an Intelligence Officer with the 135th Military Intelligence Battalion of the 525th Military Intelligence Group in South Vietnam from April 1967 until he was captured and taken as a Prisoner of War on February 1, 1968. After spending 1,871 days in captivity, Maj Gostas was released during Operation Homecoming on March 16, 1973. He was briefly hospitalized to recover from his injuries at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Denver, Colorado, and then completed admin officer and race relations officer training. His next assignment was as a Race Relations and Equal Opportunity Officer with Headquarters 6th Army at the Presidio of San Francisco, California, from January 1975 to June 1977, followed by service with the 21st Adjutant General Replacement Battalion in West Germany from July 1977 until his medical retirement from the Army on December 19, 1977.

His Bronze Star Medal Citation reads:

Major Theodore W. Gostas, Adjutant General's Corps, distinguished himself by exceptionally meritorious service to the United States of America while detained as a Prisoner of War in Southeast Asia during the period 27 February 1968 to 16 March 1973. His ceaseless efforts, by a continuous showing of resistance to an enemy who ignored all international agreements on treatment of prisoners of war, in the extremely adverse conditions of the communist prisons of Southeast Asia demonstrated his professional competence, unwavering devotion and loyalty to his country. Despite the harsh treatment through his long years of incarceration, this American continued to perform his duties in a clearly exceptional manner which reflected great credit upon himself and the United States Army.